Neill Blomkamp: VR Makes The Word 'Game' Irrelevant

Neill Blomkamp is best known for his sci-fi movies with bold visions of the distant future. But he thinks the more immediate future will be dominated by two things: VR and AR.

The director behind films like District 9, Elysium and Chappie recently said as much to the BBC. “The future of entertainment is going to be along the lines of virtual or augmented reality,” Blomkamp explained. “Audiences will be immersed in a world where they can see and move around in three dimensions.”

Blomkamp most recently directed a live action promotional video for EA and Bioware’s Anthem. He said that, in his opinion, the term “game” will be irrelevant in this future. The director reasoned that “they’ll just become interactive virtual worlds you’re stepping into.”

Blomkamp’s words are in line with an editorial I wrote about VRearlier this month. As VR content starts to find its feet, developers are discovering that it’s emotions, not mechanics that drive this new technology. Truly harnessing that potential may see games and films merge into one.

But would Blomkamp himself make a VR experience? He’s not adverse to making a traditional game, though he knows there would be challenges. “I do think the amount of expertise that goes into making a game is not something a film director can take on,” the director explained. “But if I was to come in on a filmic directorial level to be across the tone and design elements, work with actors and flavour the bigger effort then that would be really interesting to me.”